Media relations professionals and journalists can enjoy an authentic and mutually beneficial interaction on Twitter – but will they?
The media relations industry is (pardon the pun, but I need to get it out of my system) all atwitter (*collective groan* See? I warned you!) about the micro-blogging site that has attracted hundreds of media and PR industry professionals.
Cision conducted a quick study of the increase in popularity of Twitter in the media by tracking the mentions of Twitter in 50 of the top print and online media outlets across the country since 2007. Not surprisingly, Twitter mentions were more than 5 times more frequent in 2008 than in 2007. And if the first 19 days of January are any indication (184 mentions of Twitter), the first six months of 2009 will garner more than twice as many mentions than the last six months of 2008.
So Twitter is popular, we know that. Many users see it as a great resource for developing relationships through networking, discovering new content being shared by users, sharing ideas and questions with other like-minded people, and more. Personally, I find the key value of Twitter is the opportunity to participate in an authentic community that develops organically through shared ideas and thoughts.
It’s been suggested that what has been missing in the relationship between some PR professionals and the media is just that kind of authenticity and sense of community. While many media relations people develop great relationships with journalists and engage in their industries in a way that benefits them, the organizations they represent, and the media, there are also those PR people who employ the ’spray & pray’ mentality and send out dozens and dozens of the same pitch to unvetted lists of contacts and hope for a hit. Those few people have created a tense relationship between some journalists and PR.
Could Twitter be the platform that breaks down those walls? Last month, John Byrne, executive editor and editor in chief of BusinessWeek.com, wrote a post called The Twittering Gang at BusinessWeek. In the post, Byrne encourages readers to join “the hot micro-blogging site that allows users to blog in 140 characters or less.” He also lists the Twitter handles of over 30 BusinessWeek journalists.
Sounds Utopian, right? Not according to Byrne’s BW colleague Stephen Baker. Baker followed up Byrne’s post later that week with his own post entitled Freak out: Twitter infested by PR. Baker “wouldn’t be surprised if half of [his followers on Twitter] worked in PR.”
To add to that, PRNewser announced this week that we will be adding journalist Twitter handles to Cision’s database later this year. Many Twitter users were excited to read the news. Edelman Digital SVP Steve Rubel discussed the news on his Micro Persuasion blog. Behind the excitement, though, is trepidation. What about Baker’s claim that Twitter might be overrun by PR people? Rubel hopes that when the Twitter handles are available that “it won’t encourage us to pollute Twitter with DM pitches. Rather, we’ll use the info to be smarter.” Some Twitter users shared a similar sentiment: one tweet read, “PR people will either get a better reputation or re-affirm their stereotype.”
Personally, I believe that the fact that there is no way to push a message to a bunch of journalists at once will prevent some of the bad practices on Twitter that we currently see with email. PR people will have to intentionally send a personal message to each journalist individually. This encourages PR people to know who they are pitching and engage in a meaningful way.
What do you think? Will Twitter be the platform that encourages positive relationships between journalists and media relations professionals?
Maybe Twitter won’t be that platform. But I believe that the fundamentals of social media will encourage more meaningful interactions between the media and PR no matter what the platform.
Regardless of how you feel about Twitter, the best practices of working with journalists as a media relations professional remain the same: provide valuable and useful information, know the journalist – what they write and how (if) they want to be contacted, and follow through in an authentic way.
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Tags: Cision, media monitoring, media relations, Micro Persuasion, PRNewser, public relations, social media, Steve Rubel, Twitter
As a social media consultant that works exclusively with PR firms to help them harness these new strategies, I completely concur that Twitter can (and already is) a huge asset to working PR pros and journalists.
The opportunity to “meet” reporters via Twitter gives PR the chance to develop relationships in a new, effective way. The use of Twitter search via Cision et al, gives journalists the chance to find tons of great new sources.
You are precisely right that the great thing about Twitter is that it saves PR from the temptation to batch and blast. Will Twitter be what saves PR from itself?
I can only assume you haven’t heard about #JournChat on Twitter? Every Tuesday, 8.00pm EST, journalists and PR folks meet up to discuss issues facing both industries, as well as how to foster better relationships.
It’s doing everything that many of the larger media outlets aren’t – instead of complaining about each industry, it’s bringing them together.
Thanks for the comments, Jason and Danny. #Journchat is a really cool group started by a very cool lady, Sarah Evans.
Let’s hope that groups like #journchat and great PR people can continue to create a really positive environment for media relations pros and journalists to interact on Twitter.
One other consideration in the difference between email and Twitter connections is that Twitter makes it very easy to block followers from connecting with you. PR practitioners who foolishly think they can DM without research will surely find themselves blocked. Those of us who use Twitter wisely for these kind of connections surely have a great opportunity to develop relationships with journalists in a more far-reaching and meaningful way.
Great point, Kristin! Popular Twitter users already filter so much content (and can easily block users) that only authentic conversations and engagement will reap true benefits.
To answer the question of your blog post title, “Maybe.”
Twitter is not *the* platform, but it’s the best of the moment. Imagine if Facebook, with 200% more users, tears down its walls and allows similar SMS and third-party client accessibility? Might Facebook overtake Twitter for this unity you write about?
What about some other service, like Laconia or Friendfeed?
Everyone’s jumping on Twitter, and of course everyone’s mentioning it. But that doesn’t mean Twitter is the answer. It’s just the best we have right now.
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Your Piter Kokoniz, from Latvia
[...] we’re seeing more and more mentions of Twitter in print and online media outlets. In fact, Cision predicts that the number of Twitter mentions among media outlets will double in the first half of [...]